Virginia Mayhew Aikido

Virginia Mayhew, Aikido Teacher Extraordinaire! Virginia is the amazing American woman who brought Aikido to Hong Kong in 1967, during the height of the Hong Kong Riots.

Virginia Mayhew learned her Aikido at the original Honbu Dojo during the 1960s when Koichi Tohei Sensei was dojo manager there. And she is the only non-Japanese female to have learned directly from O-Sensei, Morihei Ueshiba.

Virginia was also one of the founders of the New York Aikikai, and I know she trained in Hawaii - possibly with Koichi Tohei Sensei again, but I'm not 100% sure they were both there at the same time.

She opened up the Hong Kong Aikikai in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and also ran classes at two YMCAs and a chain of local schools, where it was taught as part of the kids' physical education.